about
- adverb
- /əˈbaʊt/
- We probably got about 60 seconds until they mobilize.
- move about
Examples
-
She'll be here in about half an hour.
-
There are now two police cars behind them about half a mile back.
Fiction book (1991) -
All right, so James came just about, well, right in the middle of all this.
-
Oh, in about a week.
-
It's this tiny island about four hours off the coast of Cape Town.
-
We are out here about to play some squash for the first time.
-
We just drove about an hour to a waterfall called Golf Halls.
-
Usually, Rachel would already be up and about, but Mary hadn't wakened her.
Fiction book (1990) -
Erik Ramstad Middle School was relocated about a mile away to the city auditorium with portable classrooms in back.
Academic text (2013) -
The park is just about ten minutes away from my house.
Synonyms
Being near a place or person
In or near that place
Near that place, close to the spot
Near this place in the local area
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To stay alert and think quickly in difficult or unexpected situations
- Slur
People say it when something seems typical of white people and shows white privilege
Compounds
How Near
Surface Forms
Etymology
About comes from old English parts a- 'on' and butan 'outside', so it originally meant being 'on the outside' or 'around' a place; that's why we say someone is walking about when they are in the area or moving around.